


Bonding over Adrienalin

by Tanuki_Senpai_Sama_Sensei



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste Is So Done, Adrien Agreste is ripped, Adrien gets to eat, Animal Instincts, Animal Tendencies, Badass Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Cat tendencies, Chaos, F/M, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Hormones, Horny Teenagers, Humor, I thirst for mind connection fics, I thirst for power couple goals, I thirst for side effect fics, Magic, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Acts Like a Bug, Marinette is ripped, Mind Link, Miraculous Ladybug Love Square, Miraculous Side Effects, Mutual Pining, Not Beta Read, Pheromones, Rating May Change, Romantic Fluff, Self-Indulgent, Soul Bond, Soul link, Tags May Change, These dumb idiots, We Die Like Men, Will try to follow cannon, buff!Mari, eventually, kwami - Freeform, ladybug tendencies, miraculous powers, new powers, so here it is
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2019-10-22
Packaged: 2020-11-28 02:46:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20959172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tanuki_Senpai_Sama_Sensei/pseuds/Tanuki_Senpai_Sama_Sensei
Summary: Bonding with your kwami made a miraculous holder more powerful, especially so for the Ladybug and the Black Cat holders.But there are some... side effects.Chat Noir is pretty used to them. He started to feel his cat tendencies a while ago and they hadn't gotten worse.Ladybug, on the other hand, is shocked to find hers existence the moment she wakes up one chilly  morning.But things were going to get worse.Way way worse.At least their civillian-selves can get closer through the power of exercise.Just hope all their secrets aren't revealed obstreperously.





	1. Crashing Down

Marinette woke up with a start as a light twinge shot through her forehead. She opened bleary eyes to see a floating red kwami in front of her, round eyes filled with worry. Tikki had probably flicked her as an attempt to wake her up after she had slept through her alarm.

“Marinette! You’re gonna be late!”

“Five more minutes Tikki,” she murmured, burrowing herself inside the warmth of the blankets.

“Come on, you have to go to school,” Tikki insisted.

With a sigh the black-haired girl forced her blue eyes to reopen as she roused, feeling them heavy.

Actually she herself felt heavier, as if her bones weighed more than usual.

With a groan she went to grab the bed handle to descend the stairs and start her day, but to her surprise her right leg didn’t move and she came crashing down face-first.

The pain that traveled from her head to the tips of her toes woke her up and made him dizzy simultaneously. With a small yelp she lifted herself off the floor, resting on her knees, the ringing in her ears receding and letting Marinette hear the concerned voice of her kwami.

“I’m ok Tikki, my head is just throbbing a little, that’s all,” but as she touched the side of her head, she heard Tikki gasp. Marinette looked at her fingers only to see something warm and wet on them.

“You’re bleeding!” Tikki exclaimed, zipping away immediately to look for the first-aid supplies.

Thankfully her parents were both working down in the bakery and didn’t hear all the noise, otherwise they’d have come barging in, with the risk of seeing Tikki.

“Maybe you should rest for today Marinette,” the red kwami said worriedly. “That was a nasty fall,” Tikki passed her the gauzes and disinfectant. “Besides, you look terrible, like you could drop at any minute.”

As she dabbed her wound to clean it, Marinette stood up slowly, wobbling as she did so. Her legs still felt as hefty as cement as she waddled slowly towards her vanity mirror. She cringed at the image reflected on it.

The dark bags under her eyes and pale skin made her look ghostly, her freckles contrasting with the faint look her face had that morning.

A shiver coursed through her body. Had it been this cold before? She felt her teeth start to chatter.

Rubbing her arms in an attempt to warm herself up she considered Tikki’s suggestion for a few moments before squashing that idea down.

She had a couple of tests today and the PE teacher had announced last week that today’s class was important and not to miss it.

With a dejected sigh she sticked a gauze to her injury with a bit of the pink plaster she had and decided to get ready before temptation won.

As she went to get dressed she felt sluggish in her movements. Her hands had difficulty grasping the fabrics and her arms seemed to be as stiff as boards. Tikki observed quietly from the side, watching as her chosen struggled to do such a simple task. All of a sudden her eyes were like saucers as a revelation filtered into her mind.

“Marinette,” she said softly as she looked outside the window. “Do you feel strange? Lethargic? Like you want to curl somewhere warm and sleep for months?” The girl in question turned to look at the kwami with a strange look. Yeah, she felt exactly that way, she just hadn’t been able to put those feelings into words until she mentioned it. But why did her red friend know all of that?

“It’s been a long time since you first got your Miraculous and there are...certain side effects,” she explained. “As you bond with us kwami our powers get transferred onto you, little by little, as to not send the body into shock.” Blue eyes watched the kwami intently. At her chosen’s muteness she kept going.

“Ladybugs hibernate during the colder months Marinette,” she clarified gently, a small smile on her lips. “October is here already and the temperatures as starting to rapidly fall,” she giggled. “This is only the beginning!”

“The beginning?”

“Yes! Isn’t it exciting?”

No. It really wasn’t. Marinette dropped to her knees, laying on the floor once again. She rubbed her temple, careful to not touch her injured side.

“So you’re saying I’m going to go through a magical puberty? Miraculous puberty? Bug puberty?” She asked, uneasiness latching into her voice.

“Well, when you put it that way,” Tikki pouted. “Yes Marinette, magical puberty.”

They stood in silence for what felt like hours, but probably were just mere moments. Marinette tried to breath in an out slowly as to not freak out and have a mental breakdown at early o’clock in the morning.

“Are you not happy?” The kwami inquired with a small voice. Marinette caught on the somber tone as she locked eyes with her small friend. Moving forward slightly she cupped the kwami in her palms. Tikki stopped floating and rested on her hands, gaze downcast.

“Oh no Tikki that’s not it,” she sighed. “It was just... a shock.”

“Really?”

Marinette nodded. “I’m sorry I gave off the wrong impression, I didn’t realize how important this was for you.” Tikki hummed softly. “This... puberty -as you call it- is a testament to our growing bond,” she stated. “It means we are as close as ever, growing closer and stronger with each passing day,” the kwami smiled. “I know it’s awkward and difficult, especially in the beginning,” she chuckled. “But it’s completely worth it in the end.” Marinette could only hum in agreement, a soft smile tugging at her lips. “Just as long as I don’t turn into an actual ladybug Kafka-style.” she poked the kwami, who giggled loudly.

“No! But you might develop wings!”

“Wait what”

“And your joints may exude pheromones!”

“Tikki h-hold on...”

“There’s also a mating cycle...”

“A what now?!”

“...and the heightened senses,”

“W-wait.”

“and the muscle development,”

“Wait Tikki.”

“and the increase of emotions, and the new powers, and independent transformation, and the increase on time after a Lucky Charm, and the Black Cat connection, and-”

“Tikki!” Marinette yelled. As the room was plunged into silence once again, the superheroine held one hand up, signaling the kwami to stop. After a few seconds of processing, she finally breathed.

“Ok, I think I’m caught up.”

A voice rang from downstairs, startling the teen with a yelp.

“Marinette are you awake?” Her mother asked. “You have 5 minutes before class starts!”

With a shriek, Marinette finished getting dressed and ran to the lower floors, almost falling yet again down the stairs thanks to her still stiff appendages, grabbing and slipping into her purse a few pastries for her and a couple of cookies for her kwami, when she reached the kitchen. Her mother had gone down to the bakery after her warning and she couldn’t help but sigh in relief. She didn’t want her parents to worry about her and the clumsy treatment she had rushed on her forehead.

Quietly she slipped through the backdoor as to avoid stares and rushed to school with difficulty, stopping when she reached the crosswalk.

While she waited for the traffic light to turn green, she discretely pulled her bag closer to her, whispering softly.

“Are those side effects as bad as you said they were or were you teasing me Tikki?”

Her kwami looked up at her. “They are not bad necessarily,” she specified. “But all of them were true and will start to gradually appear from now on,” she gave the tense girl a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry Marinette, I’ll be here every step of the way, so don’t worry and ask whenever something bothers you ok?” With a tender smile, Marinette could only respond with a thank you, feeling a bit better as she resumed her walk towards the school.

* * *

Adrien yawned again, tears pricking his eyes. He was so tired. Normally he’d fault his tedious schedule but after the school year had started he hadn’t been that busy. His father had actually listened to him for once and had relieved some of his duties as the Agreste heir, on the condition that he kept his grades up of course.

But no, of course he couldn’t be that lucky. A couple of weeks ago he started to get restless during the evenings, but he attributed it to the clearance of his responsibilities and him, not having any hobbies, just simply feeling bored. 

But this week was proving to be a nightmare. He couldn’t sleep during the night. It was as if an adrenaline injection was given to him every time the clock hit midnight. He tried to exercise, take cold showers, even... release pent-up energy in private ways. But nothing seemed to work,

There were also the itches. Sometimes his skin would prick and itch for no apparent reason.

He had read online that slight itchiness was a symptom of puberty and growing up, but never to this extent.

He’d had to nuzzle and rub himself on clothes and furniture just to make it stop, and it never went away completely, which frustrated him to no end. Plagg had not been of any help, at all, but he hadn’t expected him to be. He had just cackled loudly when his first itch fit had happened, going back to munching cheese after it.

Honestly he was just worried. He hoped he wasn’t sick or anything. Plagg had assured him that if it’d been an illness the kwami would have known, but he still didn’t trust that claim completely.

After all normal, healthy boys don’t start itching and...purring. That was another new development he had discovered recently. He knew that as Chat sometimes he purred, but it hadn’t happened to him as his civilian self before. One night while watching a movie, curled up in blankets on his sofa the pressure had built up in his chest like a coil and snapped when he’d been on the bridge between dream and consciousness. The rumbling had awoken him with a start and had stuttered to a stop at his shock, but it had been there. He hadn’t purred since but the pressure was still there, sometimes tighter.

Deep in thought, he didn’t realize that he was dozing off, eyes blinking slowly as he fought heavy eyelids. Maybe a small catnap wouldn’t hurt, he reasoned. The classroom was comfortably warm, his bench felt comfy and the teacher droned on and on about french literature. It was the perfect atmosphere for a sneaky snooze.

Just as he had resigned himself to his dreamy fate there was a loud bang that startled him, made him jump in his seat and pulled him from any trance he’d been in.

A rush of adrenaline coursing through him, he searched for the akuma attack, instincts kicking in.

A sweet, soft voice jolted him out of his instinct-driven reverie.

At the door stood Marinette, looking cute as eve-actually she didn’t look so good, it seemed like she was about to topple over, and she probably already had, judging by the gauze clumsily wrapped in her head.

He stared at her jarringly, not listening to the explanation she surely was giving the teacher for her tardiness. A part of him violently reacted at seeing her injured, wanting to help and protect. He felt his eyes narrow, the hairs on his nape bristling. But as soon as it had hit him it left him, shaken.

‘_What was that?’ _He thought. Before he could react her figure passed him as she went to her seat. He had missed her explanation.

“Are you ok?” He whispered as he turned. He saw a veil of pink cover her pale cheeks.

“Yeah y-you’re fine- I-I mean I’m fine!” She stuttered. “T-thank you for asking.” Marinette smiled at him and he let his shoulders drop slightly. She couldn’t be feeling that bad if she was able to give him one of her signature cute smiles.

Returning the gesture, he was about to turn around when her gaze briefly glazed over, her eyes unfocused as a light shiver rocked her body ever so slightly, making him frown. If it weren’t for his heightened senses he wouldn’t have caught it. He was pretty sure the faint clicking sounds were coming from her rattling teeth too.

Alya gazed over her friend, concern twisting her face.

“Girl you don’t look that good, maybe you should go back home and get some sleep-” but she was interrupted by the other girl’s adamant shake of her head, pigtails bouncing on her faint cheeks.

“No Alya, I can’t,” she persisted. “You know we’ve got those two tests after this class and I can’t afford to miss them after so many warnings for being late,” Marinette sighed forlornly, something that made Adrien’s chest contract painfully. That wasn’t a good look on her, he privately decided. He’d have to do something to remedy this.

Suddenly the opportunity to help her presented itself in the form of another barely noticeable shiver. She appeared to be trying to hide them, but why? Surely she couldn’t be that cold right? In his opinion the weather was starting to get chilly, but the heaters in the classroom made the air feel stuffy and warm. However, after a repressed third shudder he decided he didn’t care.

He stood up and faced her, grinning down at her as her big blue eyes rounded in surprise at his motion.

With a graceful and quick flick of his hands he placed his hefty Gabriel coat around her shoulders.

“You seem a bit cold,” he explained softly. “Keep it for now, you can give it back whenever.” He wasn’t going to need it anyway.

He returned to his seat quickly before the teacher got too impatient. If he had waited a couple of seconds he’d have been surprised to see the previous faded face of his classmate turn into a deep beet red, regaining some of her color.


	2. Physical Trials

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Adrien has lent Marinette his coat it was time for the rest of the day to proceed.  
Unfortunately for Marinette, it was going to get worse.  
Or was it?

**CHAPTER 2**

The tests hadn’t gone all that well. Maybe she shouldn’t have gotten out of bed this morning after all.

‘_No’_, she reprimanded herself. She had tried her best and that’s what really mattered. Sure, she wouldn’t get the highest notes, but she was certain she hadn’t had failed it either.

And besides, just the mere fact of coming to school today had been a blessing. She sighed happily as she burrowed further into the big coat draped over her, making her feel warm, content and giddy.

_Adrien had lent her his coat._

_Adrien Agreste had lent her his very expensive, very designer coat._

_Adrien Agreste had lent her his Gabriel coat his dad probably designed, tailored and made for him._

_Adrien Agreste, had been concerned about **her**, so he had lent her his coat._

She felt another happy sigh escape from her lips as she held it tighter.

The article of clothing in question had really helped her calm her nerves and shivers down. She probably would have performed way more poorly on those tests if he hadn’t given it to her.

She felt herself buzzing with excitement.

Adrien Agreste surrounded her right now. Inhaling was like plunging herself into the crook of his neck. His scent manly and sharp, a bit musky. She absolutely loved every part of it.

‘_So this is the heightened sense of smell Tikki had described this morning’ _she pondered for a second_. ‘It’s not that bad, I could get used to this.’ _she finally concluded.

Just as she was about to dive into the fabric again a clasp on her shoulders brought her back to reality. It was time for their break and she was curled up in one of the benches that littered the inside patio. She turned to see mischievous honey eyes frowning down at her mirthfully.

“Marinette you look comfy in that,” she smirked. “Shut up Alya I’m not sharing,” she playfully growled. At that the reporter cackled. “Don’t worry girl I have no interest into getting under Hot-Stuff’s clothes.” Marinette blushed as she caught on the hidden meaning of her friend’s teasing.

“S-stop that it’s not-” A single finger silenced her. “I’m only teasing Nette, you make it so easy,” she smiled wickedly.

“Anyway, I know you are in snuggle-bug mode right now but just wanted to remind you of a teenny tiny detail,” she laughed again. “We are currently in public, in a school, which means...”

The shock of remembering where she was was enough to make her jump in her seat.

“Oh my god Alya we have P.E!” She exclaimed. “Monsieur D'Argencourt said we couldn’t miss his class today!” And with that the two rushed -Marinette as fast as she could- towards the changing room, where the rest of the class already was.

They changed into their exercising clothes as fast as they could when they arrived. Marinette cursed softly under her breath. She was going to have to wear stupid gym clothes that barely kept the heat in. This was not going to be fun.

Adrien’s borrowed coat went first and she immediately started shivering, longing for the warmth of it.

The tremors only got worse as she stripped and changed, her teeth chattering loudly. Alya only gave her a side glance but didn’t comment on it, although concern was clearly seen in her expression.

As they left the changing room -they were only ones left- she tried to warm up by rubbing her arms, but nothing seemed to be working, the measly sports jacket she wore doing nothing to protect her from the chilly breeze.

Marinette could see that her classmates were already in a semicircle around Armand D'Argencourt, whispering among themselves. Upon seeing them arrive and join the rest of the teens, the teacher started to explain the reason as to why the class they were about to have today was important.

Marinette prided herself on her ability to be professional and stay a role-model for her friends as class president, but she’d be lying if she said she had been listening. She was concentrating on remaining warm, preoccupied with not falling over, legs heavy as rocks.

“Miss Marinette,” a voice bellowed, making her jump, back straightening.

“Yes, Monsieur D'Argencourt?” His eyes looked her up and down, his piercing eyes narrowing. “If you feel too ill you should go to the doctor, miss Dupain-Cheng.” But Marinette could only shake her head, the stares of her classmates drilling holes in her mind. “I’m ok, really, thank you for your concern monsieur, but I’m fine,” she tried to excuse, smiling slightly.

The teacher only nodded tersely and continued his explanation, but Marinette couldn’t for the life of her concentrate on the words coming out of his mouth.

It was only when the rest of her classmates began to move that she was aware that they were doing warm-ups. Face heating in embarrassment for having missed the initial explanation. She started to follow what the rest of the class was doing, with some difficulty, since her extremities seemed to be under tons of pressure.

She could hear Chloe to the side whispering something and snickering, casting side glances her way, but Marinette couldn’t care less. She focused on trying to activate her own body and put it in action mode, but it seemed pointless, limbs as heavy as before, even if a little bit warmer. ‘_Is this going to be a constant now?’_ She pondered, suddenly realizing something. ‘_How am I even going to fight akumas anymore?’_ She cried internally, biting her bottom lip in worry.

She needed to have a conversation with Tikki after school. A long, serious conversation.

* * *

Adrien kept glancing at Marinette during the warm-up routine. Since she had come from the changing room with Alya she had looked even paler, swaying slightly. She seemed ready to fall over.

He wanted to help her, tell her that she could sit this out, but knew that she’d refuse. She was so responsible and hard-working. Maybe too much sometimes, but Adrien couldn't help but admire her for it. That head-strongness reminding him of a certain spotted superheroine.

He smiled softly at the thought of his partner, chest tightening once again. Ladybug was his best friend, the love of his life. She could sweep him off however she wanted and he’d let her, any day, at any time.

With a love-sick sigh he shook his head, concentrating in the last of the warm-up exercises. The real deal was about to start after all.

Armand D'Argencourt had explained that after a change of school regulations they needed to change the P.E curriculum of activities, and for that they were going to do a trial run this year with his class. Today they were going to do some performance tests to evaluate their physical level.

They’d start with some balance exercises, followed by some that assessed their dexterity, then strength, then speed and finally the endurance one, a half an hour run. The rest of today’s classes had been canceled to accommodate today’s trials, so they’d have plenty of time to complete them all.

He was pretty confident in his physical ability. Not only did he exercise often as his civilian-self, but thanks to his Miraculous he also spent plenty of time jumping and running around Paris’ rooftops. He was also certain the Miraculous’ side effect had provided him with better reflexes and stamina, but when he had asked Plagg about it the kwami had only shrugged, continuing his assault on the block of cheese. He hadn’t expected him to be of help anyway.

As the teacher called for them to form a line, he glanced back to where Marinette was. She appeared to have regained some color, still looking pretty miserable. A snort at his side made him turn around, only to see Chloe whispering with Sabrina as they glanced at Marinette too, softly snickering.

He frowned, because he was sure they weren’t saying anything nice, feeling relieved when Marinette didn’t appear to hear them or decided to ignore them. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel worse than she probably already felt.

He decided to ignore the pair as he fell in line next to Nino, Alya and Marinette joining their side soon after. He looked down at her one more time, but right before he could say something the call of their teacher asking for the first student to walk forward cut him off.

He watched intently as Kim marched proudly, stopping in front of what looked like a thin wood board.

He was supposed to walk on it without falling down, stopping sometimes when the teacher required and performing some range of activities he’d ask them to do.

Kim performed his trial flawlessly and with confidence, a cocky grin adorning his face all through it.

“Show off,” Adrien heard Alix mutter before she stepped forward, ready to take her turn.

And like that everyone took their turns, his excitement rising as his round approached.

Chloe hadn’t done anything. She hadn’t even tried. The teacher had just sent her away to sit on the bleachers. But to his surprise Sabrina had stayed to participate.

As Nino finished his turn, he jumped slightly, elated. With a light jog he arrived to the wooden board and immediately stepped on it. A sudden thrill ran from his neck to the tips of his toes. This was so much like balancing on railings and rooftops as Chat Noir the feeling sharpened his senses and made him tense and release his muscles.

At the teacher’s cue, he walked forward, not missing a beat. He could almost feel like he was on top of a rooftop, looking onto Paris’ night lights, silent as the shadow of the night, moving like a cat and following his heart’s thief, a red-cladded superheroine.

But the illusion was suddenly broken when his feet reached the end of the board, his eyes widening like saucers. Oh no, he’d been to enthralled by his own instinct he hadn’t realize he was performing a test. Had he ignored the teacher’s signal? Had he not done the exercises while he was up there? Had he failed? What would his father think? What would Ladybug think if she saw how unprofessionally he had acted? What did Marinette, the sweet class president, think of him now?

With a wince, he regained his composure and turned around, bracing himself for the worst.

But what he saw left him more confused than anything.

Everyone had their jaws open, staring at him intently, even D'Argencourt was looking at him with large eyes.

He felt himself withdrawing somewhat at their intense gazes, deciding to step down, off the board.

“Did...did I do something wrong?” He asked softly, his eyes lowering towards the floor.

And suddenly the class exploded.

“What was that!” Adrien heard someone shout between all the noise, his hands flying to cover his ears and protect him from the brunt of the noise. “Adrien since when were you so nimble!”

“You looked like a professional gymnast!” “Holy shit that was HOT!” were the only intelligible things he could make out, the rest were lost to his covered ears. He turned a pleading look towards his teacher, who snapped out of his stupor when Adrien had connected their gazes.

“Ok class that’s enough!” he yelled above the screaming, somewhat reducing the overwhelming tirade into nothing but exciting whispers. “Good job, Adrien,” he added, looking back at him as the blond lowered his hands. “Go back in line,” he finished.

He rushed to do so, stopping next to Nino, who was still looking at him like a deer caught in headlights.

“Dude what the fuck was that all about?” He whispered as Marinette, who was still looking at him weirdly, stepped forward.

“I’m not sure I know what you mean,” he answered, waving at her in what hoped was encouragement. Her cheeks pinked and she looked away, making his stomach plummet. Had he done something wrong? He had hoped that lending her his coat that morning would make their relationship improve, but maybe he had been wrong. ‘_She still must hate me_’ he thought somberly.

“Dude you absolutely killed it out there,” Nino brought him back from his ever dismal thoughts about his cute classmate. “You didn’t hesitate for a second nor lost your balance.” Nino said.

“Well, you know,” he tried to reason. “I had to practice for...catwalks and stuff,” he cringed, the unintended pun’s hilarity lost to anyone but him. How ironic.

“Yeah but the exercises D'Argencourt asked of you were crazy,” Nino continued. “Like, he started off with the normal stuff, but when he saw you were doing just fine he kept increasing the difficulty and didn’t stop until you actually complied with his order of doing a front flip,” he exclaim-whispered. “And you nailed it!”

‘_Fuck_’ was the only thing he could think. He had been in his own little superhero fantasy so he hadn’t realized it, but this could cause problems if he didn’t think of something to justify himself.

“I...er, took gymnastic classes for a while when I was younger,” he laughed, lying through his teeth.

Nino and Alya seemed to buy into it though, as they didn’t press him any further, turning to look at their friend.

He followed them, eyes fixating on Marinette, who obviously was acing her...

Actually she wasn’t doing that good. Her arms were shaking, hinting at her previous ailment. She moved slowly, with heavy legs, and although she looked to be keeping perfect balance, he feared her light sway could make her topple over.

At the teacher’s first instruction she complied slowly, barely holding her own weight. He didn’t stop and kept on barking orders, with increasing difficulty. After a particularly nasty one about leg and arm coordination she wobbled, loosing balance.

Before she could stumble into the floor face-first, Adrien felt himself bolting towards her, his reflexes and speed enhanced from the adrenaline of seeing his frail friend go down.

He grabbed her just in the nick of time, pulling her closer in an awkward hold, but he couldn’t care less at the moment.

“That’s enough young lady,” Armand D'Argencourt announced. “I’ve seen sufficiently already, back in line,” he grumbled, motioning for the last person, Alya, to come forward.

“Monsieur D’Argencourt,” Adrien heard himself say before he realize he had even done so. “I really think Marinette is in no condition to keep going,” he continued before he could loose his confidence. The girl in question was as stiff as the wooden board against his chest, her ears pink. She didn’t say anything to support his claim, however. “I think she may need to reschedule-” but he was cut by Armand D'Argencourt’s indignant snarl. “Don’t tell me how to manage my class boy!” His eyes were cold as he stared at him. “She chose to participate, accepted that responsibility, and so she will!” He roared. “No one backs away from their responsibilities on my watch!” With that the teacher spun around, continuing his routine, not noticing the way Adrien bristled and how his eyes narrowed. A hiss threatening to spill out of his tightly shut lips.

With bitter retorts he wanted to throw the teacher’s way swimming in his head, he helped his classmate back to their previous spots in line, his arm never leaving her shoulders, just in case.

“Thank you Adrien,” he finally heard her mutter, so softly he probably wouldn’t have heard it if not for his improved senses. “You really don’t have to worry about me, I’m fine,” she tried to affirm, her hands twitching as if trying to leave his embrace. But he only held her inflexibly.

“You’re clearly not Marinette,” he retorted, hating the way she winced at his tone. With a sigh, he leaned in a bit closer. “You can rely on me Marinette,” he whispered. “You trust me, yes?” Marinette looked at him weirdly, which only made his anxiety rise. Maybe he had crossed a line? Had he said something wrong? But as he was about to inch away he heard her answer.

“Completely,” she barely breathed, looking down at the ground again, her whole face a warmer color and a small, genuine smile tugging at her lips.

The sight of that alone made Adrien relax a bit, his hold crumbling just a pinch. With a wide grin and soft eyes he nodded as Alya finished the exercise and the teacher called the whole class forward as he began to explain the next round of sets they were going to do.

Adrien then noticed the looks his classmates were giving them. Some were grinning, other smirked and snickered, and some... the brief look Lila had given them was a bad one. It even had made him shudder, hunches tensing up. But as soon as that malignant shadow had crossed her face, it was gone again, a completely neutral look replacing it so effortlessly he wondered if he had imagined it. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He had never been good at reading other people. Besides, right now he had more important things to worry about, way more important than getting to know what those mischievous looks directed at them meant. At least he was used to Chloe’s grimace. It was so familiar it was almost comforting, in a way.

* * *

One after the other the tests were performed. Marinette had suffered through them all. She had done ok in the flexibility ones, but the rest she had failed disastrously. At least she had aced the long distance run. The more she ran the more bearable the side-effects were, so by the end of the race she felt like her normal energetic-self again.

Tests now over, they were waiting for their teacher to finish writing in the whiteboard, students whispering among themselves. Marinette felt herself wiggle impatiently. The run had woken her up and the excess of energy was pumping like a drug through her. She knew this sensation wouldn’t last long though, with the way the cold chill was picking up.

The girl felt like someone was staring at her and turned, only to see a pair of intense emeralds piercing at her. She felt herself flush as Adrien smiled softly, stepping closer to her.

Marinette turned back again with chagrin. She had done so poorly, she was sure Adrien had suffered second-hand embarrassment because of her. Test after test she had tripped, fallen or slipped, Chloe’s mockery following close after. Marinette knew that she shouldn’t let it get to her, but she couldn’t really help it this time. She wasn’t feeling like herself to begin with, and although she would never admit it out loud, the ‘clumsy, fat, klutz’ comments had taken a toll on her today, dampening her mood.

She knew it wasn’t his fault, but Adrien’s performance hadn’t helped either. He had been so perfect, so agile, so strong. Sure, Kim had outperformed him in most trials but Adrien had done them with a special kind of grace Kim didn’t possess. But maybe that was simply her bias.

How could she compare to him? He probably took pity on her. He had been so close to her after the incident during the first examination, following near and catching her whenever she tumbled -which had been a lot of times today,- and while the prospect of a worried Adrien hovering close would normally make Marinette go weak at the knees, it just felt like an insult to her wounded pride right now.

“Hey Marinette,” Adrien’s sweet voice sounded just right behind her. “How are you feeling?”

“G-good, thanks for asking,” she replied quickly, still not brave enough to look directly at him. “That was a very good run you did there at the end,” he complimented her suddenly, his hot breath on her ear making the hairs in her arms stand up as she tensed. “You outlasted and outran Kim and me, and that’s saying something!”

“T-thank you!” Marinette whimpered. Oh god she couldn’t do this. She couldn’t handle the warmth of his breath behind her, his manly smell filling her head as she inhaled sharply. Her eyes kept drilling holes to the whiteboard at the front. She knew that if she spun to look at him she wouldn’t be able to handle it, the blood rushing to her head already making her dizzy enough. Marinette could only hope he didn’t notice the red that seemed to coat all of her upper body.

“Mari listen-” Adrien began, but was interrupted by the sound of D'Argencourt’s voice requiring attention. She felt him straighten up, his presence leaving her backside as she let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding, shoulders shagging with relief.

“I’ve written all of your names in the whiteboard,” the teacher explained. “From top to bottom the students who got the best scores to the ones with the worst ones. Chloe since you didn’t participate in any of the tests you are the last one.” Chloe gasped in indignation, jumping from her seat on the stands. “This is ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!” She complained. “My dad will hear about this.” As she fumed and threw a tantrum Marinette let her eyes roam the board, looking for her name, only to gasp as she found it. It was right above Chloe’s, and since the blonde hadn’t really done anything, that meant she technically was last.

Marinette felt her eyes moisten, what was left of her pride barely keeping her composed. She heard Alya say some comforting words to her right, the brunette knowing of her best friend’s competitive streak and how deeply such a loss could affect her, but Marinette couldn’t make out her reassurances right now, too rooted into her own misery to listen to anything else. This day had been terrible. It was as if all her good luck had suddenly ran out. She was supposed to be a superhero! The superhero of good luck at that! Oh god. She had forgotten about her secret persona. How was she supposed to be Ladybug when she could barely stand straight and a bunch of regular middle-schoolers could beat her at any physical task with ease. She had to talk with Tikki! This side-effects were too dangerous! Because of them all of Paris could be in danger!

Alya’s hand clapping her shoulder heartily and shaking her drew her from her inner freak-out. While she’d been having an internal melt-down she had missed whatever D'Argencourt had said that had Alya grinning like a maniac.

“What?” She asked perplexed, looking from side to side.

“Girl, didn’t you hear D'Argencourt?” Alya chuckled. “We have to make pairs. The best scorer with the worst one, the second best with the second worst and so on,” she explained. “And look who is on second place,” she drawled, smile widening, if that was even possible. Marinette let her eyes drift through the list of names one more time, widening when she found the name that was written under Kim, who had ended in first place.

Adrien Agreste.

“You and your partner will carry out several different activities and sports throughout the year,” D'Argencourt sharp voice jolted her out of her reverie. “They will change every fortnight. You will be graded the first day and the last. Depending on how much improvement I see your grade will improve or deteriorate. We start next week,” he explained, dismissing the class as the final bell rang.

Feeling dazed, she had only a few seconds to ready herself as a dash of blond abruptly appeared in her vision. Adrien smiled down at her, the corner of his eyes crinkling.

“Let’s work well together, partner,” the blond practically beamed.

Maybe her luck hadn’t expired just yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> D'Argencourt is having them do sportsy-related activities every two weeks. With the side-effects in the way, that'll surely be the cause for some high-jinks. Maybe some angst? Romance? Fluff? Who knows.
> 
> Next chapter: Track-and-field: Long and high jump.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading the first chapter!  
Honestly this fic is completely a self-indulgent obsession I need to pour into. I just NEED my beefy marinette and adrien fics ok? Also bonding through mind magic.  
Also, criticism and grammar corrections are verily appreciated, since english is not my first language and I haven't written in a very, very long time.  
Hope you like it!


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